The wife told me to day that she wants to harvest her first buck this year. But i cant get her to shoot my .270 or .32 WIN Spec cause she says it has to much recoil. I personally think that the .32's recoil is very pleasnt. My friend has a TC Encore .243 and she wont shoot that either. So what is a good cailber for her that is leagle to hunt deer with, and has less recoil than, lets say a 30-30? Can you hunt with a .223? Also note that she will shoot almost any handgun, and does it pretty well. Its just the recoil against her shoulder that she doesn't like. I got her to shoot my .20GA one time and she said that was to much, but she will shoot my .22 mag all day long. I look forward to hear your ideas.

You need to find out what the legal minimum for your state is--most states is .24 caliber and up so .223 is out for most states and IMO a little on the light side for deer--although people have killed deer with them. If a .243 is too much MAYBE she either needs more range time, and a quality recoil pad as the .243 isn't that much of a shoulder buster. You could also go with a H&R single shot or Marlin/Winchester levergun in .44 Mag as those are light recoiling in a rifle but have enough punch to kill a deer at 150 yards easy/

She is missing out on the .270 in my opinion. explain to her about the hazards of wounding a deer and an inhumane killing of an animal. The .270 doesn't have that much recoil and you could add a Limb Saver recoil pad to reduce it by 50%. I have a permantely broken shoulder and I shoot the .270 because of it.

here in ND it it just has to be a center fire of 22 cal or larger. I have taken alot of deer with a 223 but shot placement is the key. She'll do alot better with a gun she can control then a larger cal that she's scared to shoot.

For an expanded version of this table showing a great many more calibers and loads including British, European, wildcat, obsolescent American and proprietary calibers, see the "Expanded Rifle Recoil Table" on the Tables, Charts and Lists Page.

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction; that is one of the physical laws of our universe. This means that the momentum of a rifle's reaction will exactly equal the momentum of the bullet and powder gasses ejected from the barrel. In the shooting sports we call that reaction recoil or "kick." It can be measured or computed empirically, and has been for this recoil table.

However, perceived recoil, what the shooter feels, is a highly subjective matter. It is influenced by many factors. One of the most important of these is the fit and shape of the rifle stock. A good recoil pad can help soften the blow to the shooter's shoulder. Gas-operated semi-automatic actions reduce apparent recoil by spreading it over a longer period of time. These sorts of things cannot be accounted for in a recoil table. Also, please understand that there are dozens of loads for any given bullet weight in any cartridge that will produce the same velocity, but a different amount of recoil. So the figures in any recoil table should be taken as approximate. Never-the-less, the table below should give a reasonably accurate comparison of the recoil of most popular rifle cartridges.

In the table below rifle weight is given in pounds, free recoil energy is given in foot pounds, and free recoil velocity is given in feet-per-second. All recoil values have been rounded off to one decimal place.

The recoil energy and recoil velocity figures are taken from various sources including the recoil nomograph in the Handloader's Digest 8th Edition, various online recoil calculators, the Remington Shoot! program or calculated from the formula given in the Lyman Reloading Handbook, 43rd Edition.

Jonathan, I'd HIGHLY recommend that your wife check out the 7mm-08 caliber, if she's sensitive to recoil. It's the lightest recoiling hunting caliber I've fired, even compared to my .257 Ackley (which is about the same as a .25-06). It's a dandy caliber for deer and antelope sized game that's often recommended for the first-time child or woman hunter.

Get her a bolt action 6.5x55. 140gr at about 2600fps is easy on the shoulder.

My CG has a steel buttplate and the recoil is still easy. I imagine a commercial rifle with a good pad on it would make it fine for even s small framed woman.

US Army (Ret.)1977-1998

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms. . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” — Jefferson`s “Commonplace Book,”

“Political tags – such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth – are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.” Robert A. Heinlein

“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”- Heraclitus.

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms. . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” — Jefferson`s “Commonplace Book,”

“Political tags – such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth – are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.” Robert A. Heinlein

“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”- Heraclitus.

i think i might go with a limbsaver, might be a cheap soulution,i guess i better start looking for prices online. Ill just stick it on the .270 and make her go to the range with me and practice a little at 100yds.

I would get her something in a 260 Remington or as mentioned a 6.5x55. They are about the same, and very good shooters. Some will say too light for deer, but the funny thing is that they have been used to kill moose in Sweden for many years. They have very little recoil, and very accurate. I am building one for my 10 year old daughter now, and one for myself, since I too have bad shoulders.

id agree with others that a better recoil pad is probly the best way to go. i have 2 30/06 rifles. ones a sportorized 1903 the other is a mauser 98 that was rechambered. the 1903 KILLS my shoulder. i can stand to put mabye 20rds thgought it and im done for the day. the mauser has a much nicer pad on it and i can shoot that all day long.

a 243 or 223 is good on whitetail but not the really long shots as they will loose alot of energy. I agree on the reply of missing out on the270 and suggest a limbsaver slip on recoil pad. They really do work great, and you won't be modifying your stock. Just .02 mworth. Best to you both. Let us know what she ends up with.

I second recoil pads and muzzle brake/porting...if that is not an option then go for the .44 Mag carbine. Would one of the semi-autos have less felt recoil??

My wife love to shoot my Ruger 44 carbine, as does my 9 year old daughter. Wife thinks the Yugo SKS is too heavy, her prob. is with carpal tunnel and supporting the rifle.

user@darkstar:~$ links -dump http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html | grep "the people" or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. or to the people.

Why is it that one of these "the peoples" isn't considered to be The People?

You already have a .270. Remington sells a low recoil load in a 115gr bullet that is a 200 yards cartridge and really with good shot placement shouod be good to 300 yards. Order a box of these, put a limbsaver recoil pad on the .270 and see what she thinks of it. Could save a little money.

Also I checked the Arkansas Game And Fish hunting handbook last night and was trying to find what is legal to hunt with.

C&P from AGFC website

Legal hunting equipment for deer season

Modern Gun

All modern guns may be used for deer hunting during modern gun season with the following exceptions. You may not use:

buckshot in a .410 shotgun.

shot smaller than No. 4 buckshot in any shotgun.

rimfire cartridges, military or full metal jacketed ammunition.

any centerfire rifle or pistol smaller than .22 caliber.

handguns with barrels shorter than 4 inches. See illustration, right. In zones 4, 4B, 5 and 5B, modern guns are restricted to shotguns .410 or larger with slugs. Pistols having barrels that are no less than 4 inches nor longer than 10 inches in length chambered specifically for straight wall centerfire cartridge cases and hunting with lead, lead alloy, soft nose and/or hollow point bullets no less than .30 caliber in diameter also may be used. Muzzleloading rifles also are allowed.

I shoot this cz 7.62x39 ( AK- 47) with either 125 or 154 soft points. Length of pull on it is 13.5/8". The gun is a carbine and short to swing in the treestand. It does not hardly kick. If it were to much you could install a limbsaver recoil pad. Ammo is cheap for the carbine. I bought thousands of rounds of wolf soft point.. enough to last my lifetime. They cost about .25cents a round. They do make the rifle in a pretty wood stock ( in which I have ). OR you could get her a gas operated automatic to tame the recoil. Just make sure the rifle FITS your wife or any rifle could be a problem on recoil.

Felt recoil on the range and felt recoil in the field is two different things. On the range is she is anticipating the recoil and is scared of it. In the field she is concentrating on the deer and the shot and won't even feel the gun recoil.

How many of us that have harvested a deer can remember how much the gun kicked. With the adrenaline pumping she won't feel a thing.

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them, will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."RIP Spryor CA#22 1%

I use a 223 with blackhills, 52gr hps. You need to know the area your hunting,cause you usually won't have a blood trail.I haven't had any get away yet. Shoot them in the neck and they drop on the spot or you shoot em in the ribs and find them 30-40 yards away.

Just make sure the rifle FITS your wife or any rifle could be a problem on recoil.

That, is the first key to recoil management. Something as simple as changing length of pull will make a tremendous difference. Combine that with a caliber such as 257 Roberts, 6.5x55, 260, 7x57 or 7-08 and she would have a rifle she could enjoy.

I might curse because roses have thorns, or I might rejoice because thorns have roses.

I'm with Fly Doc: the 7-08 is an awesome deer cartridge, and easy on recoil. I have recently become a convert. However, if she doesn't like the .243 she won't like the 7-08, which is a heavier bullet in the same case. I'd draw the line there, and say she needs to either get used to recoil or quit wanting to hunt. The .223 can do the job, and would be fun to carry in a compact rifle, but would require too much finesse for a novice.

Jonathan, I'd HIGHLY recommend that your wife check out the 7mm-08 caliber, if she's sensitive to recoil. It's the lightest recoiling hunting caliber I've fired, even compared to my .257 Ackley (which is about the same as a .25-06). It's a dandy caliber for deer and antelope sized game that's often recommended for the first-time child or woman hunter.

My suggestion also. Its perfect a very flat shooter out to 300-400 yards, 117 gr ammo, light recoil, ammo and reloading equipment is available and you can get one in a Savage or Stevens cheap.

Jonathan, I'd HIGHLY recommend that your wife check out the 7mm-08 caliber, if she's sensitive to recoil. It's the lightest recoiling hunting caliber I've fired, even compared to my .257 Ackley (which is about the same as a .25-06). It's a dandy caliber for deer and antelope sized game that's often recommended for the first-time child or woman hunter.

My suggestion also. Its perfect a very flat shooter out to 300-400 yards, 117 gr ammo, light recoil, ammo and reloading equipment is available and you can get one in a Savage or Stevens cheap.

Or A Marlin XS7 Real nice rifle for 300.00

All characters appearing in these jokes are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

I've got to stop saying, "How stupid can you be?"Too many people are taking it as a challenge.